Oil on panel. A similar view of the Greenwich Hospital was painted by Canaletto (1697-1768) in c.1752. However, several elements in the architecture of this version, by an unidentified artist, differ from Canaletto’s painting and from the hospital itself. For example, in the centre of the Grand Square a group of figures point to a statue where that of George II, designed by John Michael Rysbrack (1694-1770) and erected in 1735, stands today. The seated figure of the sculpture depicted in this work bears little resemblance to Rysbrack’s standing statue. Also, on a hill in the distance, a building can be made out. Today this is the site of Flamsteed House, the original building of the Royal Observatory. Flamsteed House was designed by Christopher Wren and completed in 1676. However, the building on the hill in this painting does not appear to be Wren’s red brick observatory and may instead indicate the earlier Earl of Northampton’s Lodge (formerly Duke Humphrey’s Tower). These differences may be an indication that the artist worked from existing images of the Hospital, rather than looking at the building itself.
